


this wife of mine

by TheQueenInTheNorth



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, fake married, the kree court playing the game of thrones lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 04:59:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13403970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth
Summary: Kree politics, never the most stable, are thrown into disarray with the death of heir apparent, Faulnak. With factions fighting for influence amongst themselves and any perceived insult enough to break the fragile peace, it's really just logical to say Kasius is already married.





	1. Chapter 1

They had been welcomed with honours. It was not as if Garron had had another choice, really, when his only remaining living son had arrived with his previous heir's corpse, those who had killed him, and the Destroyer in chains, a smirking Sinara tugging on her leash harder than entirely necessary.

The feast was splendid, considering the haste with which it had been thrown together, Kasius mused. He was at his father's side, overlooking the ballroom. People had been coming up to him all evening, congratulating and groweling and bargaining for his favour. It would have perhaps worked better had they not been the very same ones who had sneered at him when he had still lived in Faulnak's shadow.

Sinara was moving about the room, keeping to herself mostly. Garron had made it perfectly clear with no more than a glance that they'd best remember where her places was. Kasius had swallowed any comment at the matter. It had taken him years to work up the nerve to deal with his brother; his father would have to wait. Thankfully, Sinara did not seem to mind at all, now conversing with Garron's military adviser. Judging by the man's face, she had said something that impressed him. He allowed himself a small smile.

"You'd do well to pay even half as much attention to any of the suitable women in this room,"Garron said sharply.

"And who might those be, Father?" He surveyed the room with feigned interest."Faulnak's betrothed, since her family thinks they are owed a marriage? Or someone from a different faction, who thinks chosing Malla again would be slighting their daughters and granddaughters? Tarina, perhaps, who's father conveniently died in your service just when you took an interest in bedding her mother?"

"Enough,"Garron interrupted. The muscles in his jaw were working in a way that had, once upon a time, taught Kasius the meaning of fear."It is too soon to make a decision. Faulnak's death has thrown everything into disarray."

There was a hint of reproach in his father's voice, if he wasn't mistaken. But he was not about to foolishly admit anything he did not have to."Yes, how inopportune."

They both fell silent as the next hopeful approached them, with much the same blather as those before. He gaves his replies as expected of him, glancing across the room while he did. Sinara was now speaking to his grandmother, looking surprised to be sought out, but not unpleasantly so.

"You killed him, didn't you?" Garron wasted no time with tiptoeing around the subject as soon as they were alone again. Kasius threw him a sharp look; he had not expected anything this clear this early on. Garron's brow furrowed."He was the better son, but mayhaps I misjudged you some. I killed two of my own brothers. I don't fault you for it." His eyes were the same cold steel of Kasius' childhood."But don't take me for a fool. Waltzing in here with that unlikely story and a couple of inhumans." His sneer grew ever more contemptous."And that lowborn no one by your side-"

"I did kill him." And he smiled, the first time that Garron could see himself in his youngest son."I did not appreciate his tone towards Sinara."

For a few seconds, the simply stared at one another, neither willing to break eye contact first. They were interrupted by Malla's father for the fifth time that night, his hints at Kasius making good on Faulnak's promise of marriage getting more and more transparent with each time. They got rid of him as politely as possible once more, then Garron sighed heavily."Any of them is a wrong choice at this point in time. And making no choice is just as wrong. You put us between a rock and a hard place."

How wonderful it was to cause his father such vexations."So sorry to be an inconvenience, Father."

"I am used to as much from you,"snapped Garron."No, we can't keep them at bay for long nor is this the time for hasty decisions." He thought for a few moments more, then nodded to himself."I'll put it about you married while on that abysmal little rock. You weren't going to inherit a thing then. No one can openly blame you for that sort of faux pas. And I don't think I'll have any trouble with making people believe it, they way you've been staring at that girl all night long."

It took a moment for the meaning of Garron's words to sink in.

"Of course,"Kasius replied smoothly, once again returning his gaze to Sinara. She seemed to feel his eyes on her, looking over with a questioning tilt of her head. Kasius forced his voice to remain impassive."I suppose I'd best go inform her of the situation, then."


	2. Chapter 2

"A word, Sinara?" He sounded much calmer than he actually felt. She had met him halfway, quizzical look on her face, waiting for the question he somehow couldn't bring himself to ask. He had asked a great many things of Sinara in the past, yet this time he truly wasn't sure what her reaction would be. It was a quite outlandish request, afterall. He took her hand in his, stupidly, as if that would make anything simpler.

She looked down at their hands with mild confusion, then back at him. "Kasius?"she prompted when he still said nothing.

Finally he managed to form words again,"Dance with me."

Sinara's gaze followed his to the dance floor, a bemused half-smile on her face."That's not what you were going to ask."

"No,"he admitted. There was no point in lying."Dance with me anyway?"

The smile was gone again. She hadn't pulled her hand away."I don't think your father would much appreciate that."

"You might be surprised, Sinara, but I really don't think he would mind." He couldn't elaborate here infront of all these people. He didn't want to, either. As long as he did not propose this ridiculous scheme his father had cooked up, she could not turn him down. Once she did... He didn't dwell on the notion."Forget about Father. Will you dance with me?"

If she couldn't even bring herself to do that, how could he possible ask her to be his wife, even if only in pretence?

"I don't know how,"she confessed so softly he almost didn't catch it.

"Oh,"he said lamely. Of course she didn't know how to ballroom dance. He chastised himself silently for once again forgetting the difference in their upbringings. Garron may have never been fond of him, but he had still enjoy all the comforts of life growing up. Sinara had gone straight from the slums to the military compound. He gently brushed his thumb over the back of her hand."I could show you. This one isn't too complicated."

Perhaps she had heard it as a challenge of sorts, perhaps she was simply humouring him. Perhaps she even wanted to dance. Either way, she turned towards the dancefloor, her hand still in his.

"You'll be the one losing face if we make fools of ourselves,"she warned as they assumed their positions, a hint of mirth in her eyes.

Kasius smiled, and pulled her just a little closer than he truly had to."I'll take that risk."

As he'd assumed, Sinara caught on very quickly and it soon felt as easy as if they had done it many times before. He almost wished she had had a harder time with the steps. That way, she wouldn't have gone back to the previous topic so soon.

"Should I be worried that you don't want to tell me?" She was not smiling anymore."You had no qualms asking me to fight the Destroyer when Faulnak so wished. That doesn't bode well for whatever favour this is."

Not exactly his finest moment, admittedly. He didn't comment on that."Who said anything about a favour?"

"So it's not a favour?" A slight mocking in her tone. From her, that was close enough to affectionate.

"Of sorts,"he conceded."I can't tell you here, Sinara."

"I figured." She glanced over his shoulder."It's like they think we can't see them staring. And you thought they wouldn't mind."

"I said Father wouldn't,"he corrected absently. He found it difficult not to stare too much himself. Sinara was an avid maintainer of personal space; he was rarely allowed this close for this long. Her eyes looked more golden than brown the closer he got.  He cleared his throat."I'll explain when we are alone."

"So let's leave,"she said, moving slightly away, but he didn't release her.

"Not in the middle of the song,"he argued."It would look quite improper to leave so hastily."

The guests considered it improper to leave with her for all to see, anyway. Not that it would matter either way, once Garron let the news of their marriage slip. But he wanted to finish their dance.

* * *

"Well?"Sinara demanded as soon as the door closed behind them. She didn't question why he had brought her to his quarters, he noted.

"We arrived in a precarious political climate,"he started."Caused it in part, truly, what with Faulnak's death. The family of his betrothed is less than thrilled."

"But you're not marrying her." It wasn't a question."Not yet, anyway. Malla or any other girl, anything would offened some factions. Garron's stalling. You barely spoke to any of them all night. You didn't even dance with -"

She broke off, staring at him in disbelieve."You cannot be serious."

"Well, it seemed reasonable enough when Father suggested it,"Kasius said."So, what do you say? One more favour?" He stepped closer and offered his hand."Will you be my sham wife?"

She hesitated only for a split second before taking his hand.

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Just this one more favour,"she said, half-smile and her hand still in his. For a moment, he thought she might move in closer, but then she yanked back her hand as if she only just realised what she was doing, taking a step back.

He followed suit, clearing his throat."There won't be a formal announcement, I think. Not right away. Father will let the rumours take their course."

"I suppose that's best,"Sinara said, glad for him talking over the obvious tension.

"Yes, I suppose it is." He tried to recall the last time he didn't know what to say to Sinara and came up blank. It was a favour like any other, not even the worst he had ever asked her. Why was this so uncomfortable?

Well, if he was honest with himself, he very clearly knew why. They hadn't really been alone since the night of Faulnak's death. And they certainly hadn't spoken about what had happened - what had almost happened between them. He tried very hard not to look at her lips too much."It's really too soon after Faulnak's death to make it public."

Had the soldier not interrupted them, Kasius did not think it would have stopped at kisses. Had Sinara not killed the soldier, he would have done it himself, and only in very small part to stop him from revealing he'd found them standing over Faulnak's corpse."A period of mourning should be observed. After that, Father will likely throw us another feast."

Sinara simply gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

Before either of them could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Perhaps Garron had gotten a servant to bring Sinara's things, he thought as he went to open the door. He had certainly no expected to find a disgruntled Krenyk.

"Your father says you're in need of this,"the military adviser said, holding out a package to him, clearly peeved at being sent around like a common errand boy. Kasius accept the package, not getting a chance to inquire what it was before Krenyk had already turned to leave. He closed the door behind him and opened the package.

"What is it?"Sinara wanted to know when he didn't say anything after pulling off the packaging. He wordlessly handed her the box.

She took out one of the small containers inside, the golden powder shimmering in the light as she gave it a small shake."These are for union marks?"

"They are,"he confirmed. He couldn't believe it hadn't even occured to him yet that they would have to mark eachother if they wanted anyone to believe their story. They'd both luckily worn high enough collars today that no one could say for certain whether they had union marks, but it wasn't a risk they could keep taking."Last chance to back out."

"When have I ever?" She was already pulling down her zipper and letting the garment drop to the ground, looking slightly confused at his bewildered expression."It was in the way."

"Of course." Not that he would ever complain about Sinara getting undressed infront of him but she really was awfully cavalier about it, especially considering the way she reacted to something as simple as holding his hand. But now it was her who stepped into his personal space, head tilted slightly to offer the best possible access to her neck."Go ahead, then."

He hesitated only for a moment before leaning down to bring his mouth against her skin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: unnecessarily sexual biting (but for plot reasons)

His lips parted against her soft skin, the lightest grazing off teeth, more kiss than bite. The notion of marring such perfection was almost maddening, and yet so was the urge to do just that, to mark her. His grip on her hips tightened unthinkingly. Mark her as _his_ , for all the world to see. He sucked on her skin gently, just for a moment, unable to resist the urge, before digging his teeth into her flesh.

The sound she made, though half-stifled, was quite possibly the most enticing thing he'd ever heard. Her hands were bunched into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer. Or maybe holding herself up.

"You're going to have to do it harder than that." He could have sworn there was a slight breathlessness to her voice. "We're going for scarring, here."

He obeyed, bearing down until he could taste blood. Then he pulled away to examine his work, brushing his fingertips across the mark gently. He somehow found it impossible to remember what he'd ever had against scars.

"Good enough?"Sinara asked, shallow breathing now undeniable, her eyes unusually dark. Kasius nodded, needing a moment to manage to form words."Absolutely perfect."

He reached for the first of the containers, the one containing the golden powder. Sinara could have just as well applied it herself. Neither of them brought up the possibility. He gathered the colour on his fingers, then carefully brushed them across the upper arc of the bitemark.

Unbidden, the traditional vows sprang to mind at the sight of the shining gold newly decorating her skin. _With this mark, I vow to share my life with you. To hold you precious above all the treasures of this universe._ He pushed the thought away and reached for the purple powder instead. _I pledge my love, devotion, faith and honour as I join my life to yours. For I am yours, as you are mine._

Kasius swallowed hard, trying and failing to keep those words out of his mind. There was a final container in the box and he found it to be healing gel on closer inspection. This was not usually part of the ceremony, of course.

"He really thought of everything,"Sinara remarked as he applied that, too."Couldn't have this thing look new."

She reached up to touch the fresh mark, her fingers brushing his as she did so. He only just managed not to flinch away from the brief touch. Really, he was being quite ridiculous. He slowly lowered his hand and took half a step back."Finished."

"Your turn,"she said, and he could only nod, words failing him. She was already undoing the buttons of his shirt, just enough to push it aside and expose his neck. He couldn't surpress the slight shudder as she touched the spot where he would soon bear the union mark. She froze, a look of uncertainty creeping onto her face. Fuck, this charade hadn't even been going on for an hour and he was already making a mess of things. Not trusting his voice he simply tilted his head to allow her better access, the way she had for him, a silent go-ahead. She still hesitated, nervously wetting her lips. No, that couldn't be right. Sinara did most certainly not get nervous.

"You should sit,"she said. It sounded like a question. Again, all he could muster was a nod, though he didn't know why. She wasn't _that_ much shorter than him; it would be somewhat easier, maybe, but not really necessary. It could be because he was very bad with even the slightest pain, he supposed. He'd be less likely to jerk away if he was sitting. When he didn't move, she placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him in the right direction. He still hadn't quite made sense of it when his legs hit the bed and he sat down instinctively.

And then she straddled him and he stopped even trying to form a single coherent thought.

His hands settled on her hips automatically. One of her hands was a the nape of his neck, the other resting against his chest. She must have felt the frantic beating of his heart. If she did, she had the good grace not to comment on it. Then her mouth was at his throat, and he did his best to stop any sound from escaping him. She sucked on his skin before biting down lightly, almost as if she was making sure he had time to change his mind. Even if there was no need for the mark, he wouldn't have dreamed of telling her to stop. On the contrary, he was already vaguely wondering how he'd get her to do it again. Having her this close was worth any scar.

There was something almost playful, something almost teasing in the way she nipped at his flesh before bearing down properly. His fingers were digging into her skin, his teeth into his own lip. When he felt his skin break, he didn't dwell on the scar or the pain. All he could think about was that he wished she'd taken more time, that he wasn't ready for this moment to end.

Her tongue traced along the imprint of her teeth, as if attempting to soothe the wound, or as if she'd somehow read his mind. Only then did she pull back to look at him.

There was a speck of his blood on her lip and he reached out to wipe it away, thumb instead coming to rest against her lower lip. They locked eyes; there was something in her gaze he didn't dare put a name to. Her breath was warm against his skin, rapid panting that made his head spin. Neither moved for a moment that might as well have been an eternity.

"Sinara,"he finally said, or rather sighed; he could hear the desperation in his own voice. Maybe it was that that broke the spell. He silently cursed himself as she moved away to apply the powders with more concentration than it truly warranted, not meeting his gaze, her cheeks flushed with colour.

"There. You're done,"she said at last, briefly glancing at him before turning her attention back to the container of healing gel. Her last word was uttered with a hint of humour, but so softly he almost wasn't sure whether he imagined it."Husband."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't blame me for this he had blood on his face when i started shipping them the writers did this it's not my fault the blues are Like That tm


	5. Chapter 5

She was in the shower, and he was trying very hard not to think about that. He could hear the pattering of water quite clearly. Whoever had decided to have bathrooms adjacent to bedrooms had clearly not thought things through, or at least never had to suffer through the sheer agony of having everything you wanted so close and yet so far.

He shook that thought off, exasperated with himself. Sinara was not his to desire, and he would do well to remember that.

He tried to distract himself by rummaging around the drawers of every piece of furniture in the room. Nothing in his quarters had been changed in the time he’d spent at the Lighthouse. He would have to extend his wardrobe when he got the chance. What had been left here had mostly gone out of fashion, what he had worn at the Lighthouse was not up to the standard of life at court. And Sinara couldn’t go around dressed like a soldier for much longer, either.

He couldn’t quite suppress a smile at the notion of what she might say of the things she would be expected to wear instead. Kasius was sure she would look beautiful in the more extravagant style - but then she would be beautiful no matter what she wore, anyway.

As if to prove his point she chose that moment to exit the bathroom, wearing nothing but the shirt he had given her. Since her things had been brought to quarters of her own and they had agreed she should stay with him to lend more credence to any rumours Garron may have already started spreading, he had given her some of his clothes to sleep in. Though he had picked the loosest shirt he could find, it barely reached down to mid-thigh, riding further up as she towled her hair.

“I left the pants in there if you want them,”she said, indicating the bathroom with a jerk of her head. “They were way too long.”

He found that hard to believe; her legs seemed to go on forever. He swallowed hard, unable to get himself to get out a proper answer. He simply nodded and strode past her into the bathroom.

 

The shower did fortunately help clear his mind, though it came a little late. He’d been in such a hurry to get away before he said or did something stupid that he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes.

Luckily he had the trousers that hadn’t fit Sinara at least. He contemplated just putting his dress shirt back on but that was more than a little ridiculous. He could hardly sleep in it. And growing up in the barracks had given Sinara a rather different concept of modesty; she would think it stranger for him to put the old shirt back on than none at all.

He sighed and stuffed the dress shirt down the laundry chute, giving himself an uncertain once-over in the mirror before opening the door. While he was no fighter he was careful to keep himself in shape, and he was thankful for that now.

Sinara was sitting cross legged on the couch, brushing her hair. When not in her usual style, it fell almost down to her hips.

She looked up as he entered, only meeting his eyes for a moment before her gaze dropped lower. Ridiculously, he felt his cheeks grow hot.

“It ended up healing well,”she said after a moment that seemed to stretch on forever.

He looked down at the scar that ran along his right side. He supposed it wasn’t as bad as it might have been, considering the original wound he had sustained before Sinara had fought her way through to him and struck down his assailants.

“Yes, it has.” He trailed a finger across it absently. Badly butchered, she’d said at the time. In her own way, she had meant it as some sort of comfort. Back then it had only made him panic worse.

“I borrowed your brush,”she said as he made his way over to the bed. He gave her a small smile. “Well, what is mine is yours and all that.”

“Of course.” Her smile was somewhere between teasing and sincere. She put the brush aside. “Throw me a pillow, will you?”

He was already reaching for one when his brain caught up with his hand. “Why?”

“To use, obviously.”

It took him a second or two to put that together logically. “You’re not sleeping on the couch, Sinara.”

“I’m not?”she asked, sounding genuinely baffled.

“Of course not,”he said. “How would that look?”

She shrugged. “Not good, true. But no one would actually see, would they?”

“We have to go for a certain realism if we want anyone to believe any of this,”he said with an exasperated sigh. She did have a point, in a way, but he would not just let her sleep on the couch.“Just get in the damn bed, Sinara.”

“Alright, alright.” She got up and crossed over to him with an exaggerated eye roll. “I see marriage hasn’t made you any less bossy.”

“Give it time, it’s barely been an hour,”he quipped as she got into bed.

He was rewarded with another soft smile. “Well, don’t hurry to change. I’ve gotten quite used to you.”

She flicked off the lights before he had a chance to reply, effectively ending the conversation.

He laid there, listening to her breathing, wondering how he was supposed to fall asleep when he already felt as if he were dreaming.

 

Kasius could not have said how long it took him to eventually fall asleep but he must have, because next thing he knew he woke up to find Sinara curled up against him, fast asleep. His arm was draped over her waist and he almost pulled it away before realising there was no point in that. She was very much on his side of the bed, her head resting on his other arm - he couldn’t possibly move away without risking waking her and making the whole situation unnecessarily awkward. Best to just let her sleep, really.

He closed his eyes again, matching his breathing to Sinara’s, a small smile playing on his lips.

It was about time his father had come up with something that actually _improved_ his life.


	6. Chapter 6

Kasius awoke, reaching out for Sinara unthinkingly, only to find the other side of the bed empty. He raised himself onto his elbows, pushing down the idiotic sense of disappointment. Of course he shouldn’t have expected to find her still in his arms; he could only imagine her discomfiture at waking up to that.  
He made a mental note that they ought to establish some sort of basic rules so he wouldn’t overstep nor spend every moment second guessing himself.

Sinara wasn't far from the bed, still clad only in his shirt, going through her morning exercise routine.   
She'd actually picked it up from some of their Inhumans, he knew, which was why he was probably the only person to know she did it. It was called tai chi if he wasn't mistaken.  
Currently her back was turned to him as she slowly moved through her ritual.   
It was rather soothing to watch. Almost hypnotic, her ponytail swinging slightly with every movement.  
“You’re staring.” She neither turned nor stopped what she was doing.  
Kasius allowed himself a small smile.“Good morning to you, too.”  
Now she did turn, though only far and long enough to give him an amused look.  
As she did so, he caught sight of the mark on her throat, his hand coming up to trace the one on his own skin. He still couldn’t quite believe they had actually done this.  
It was all a very logical plan, of course. They had simply done what they needed to keep up his father’s charade.  
But he could still recall the feeling of her body pressed against his so clearly as if he were still in the moment. He shook off the thought.  
Maybe now would be a good time to go find Garron and have him explain just how he expected them to proceed in order for the rumours to take their course.  
Before he could even start to get out of bed, the control panel on his bedside table beeped.  
“There’s someone at the door,”he told Sinara.  
She thought for only a split second before slipping back into bed, nudging his arm aside so she could properly settle against his chest. “Alright. Let them in, then.”  
He pressed the according button, willing his heart to keep beating at a normal pace. He was being ridiculous; after all, he had been the one to remind her they needed to make it all seem as realistic as possible. There was no need to become flustered now, even if her feigning sleep like this was almost a little too realistic.  
“Good morning, your Highness,”the servant said as he entered the bedroom, tray laden with food in hand. “His Majesty said,” he faltered as he caught sight of Sinara, but caught himself quickly. “His Majesty said you would be taking your breakfast in your quarters after your arduous journey.”  
“We’ll be needing another tray,”Kasius said, relieved to find his voice as haughty as it should be. It seemed he still was somewhat master of his own mind, at least.  
Sinara chose that moment to blink sleepily, stretching a little. She barely glanced at the servant before pressing a kiss to the spot just beneath Kasius’ ear, voice soft and warm,“Good morning.”  
“Good morning,”he echoed, masking his startled flinch by turning to look at her properly. She took the opportunity to kiss his lips this time, even if only very fleetingly.  
“Set that on the table in the other room,”Kasius told the servant, who was still hovering in the doorway. “And arrange for someone to bring Sinara’s things.”  
“Certainly,”he said. “Are there any specific items you need, ma’am?”  
“All of them?” Sinara was still looking at Kasius rather than at the man who had asked her the question.  
“All of them,”Kasius repeated, though from him it was an order. Sinara brushed another kiss against his lips, and he did not have to act to smile back a her like a lovestruck fool. “Sinara will not require chambers of her own.”  
The servant knew he had been dismissed, turning to leave. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Sinara moved away, sitting up; Kasius followed suit.  
“Sorry about that,”she said, gesturing vaguely to her own face to indicate the kissing. If he had thought she was wont to such folly, he would have said she looked embarrassed.“Thought it would help add some realism to be that mushy .”  
“It’s fine,”he said stupidly. He hadn’t even considered minding but his involuntary wince of surprise had clearly not gone unnoticed and had been ill received. Correcting her seemed somehow more uncomfortable, so he refrained from doing so. “Though I dare say finding you in my bed already sold the idea.”  
He had tried to make it clear that he was joking by his tone of voice but seemed to have failed, as she continued to explain herself.   
“Well, yes, that we’re fucking.” There was a pause as if she expected that to clear everything up. Apparently his expression made it clear that it hadn’t. She sighed.“But they all assume that already anyway.”  
“They do?”  
She shrugged. “Probably. I mean, they did at the Lighthouse.”  
“They did?” He felt like he had missed something rather important somewhere along the way.  
She gave him the most incredulous look he’d ever seen on her, speechless for a moment. Then she rolled her eyes.“You know, for a genius, you are pretty dense.”


	7. Chapter 7

They sat at the breakfast table in relative silence and it was starting to make Sinara nervous. Kasius seemed deep in thought but usually that wasn’t enough to shut him up. He never shut up, really.

She had probably behaved too strangely somewhere along the line and freaked him out; she couldn’t even guess at what point. The last twelve hours had been a whirl of bad decisions and worse impulse control. The night of Faulnak’s death had stirred up more problems than it had solved, it seemed.

She could only thank her lucky stars that he had still been asleep when she had woken up that morning, having made herself at home on his side of the bed in her sleep somehow. Now she apparently couldn’t even trust herself while she was asleep.

It was a good thing she’d refused to share anyone’s bed to actually sleep in so far; if she’d found herself snuggled up to anyone else like that she could have kissed her reputation goodbye right then and there.

After the tiny cots at the barracks she’d been so glad to have an actual, proper bed at the Lighthouse, it had never even crossed her mind to let anyone besides herself sleep in it. Not that anyone had objected at being kicked out or had tried to linger long. They’d been too worried about being caught with the boss’ - well, whatever they had assumed she was to Kasius.

She couldn’t believe Kasius had never realised that the assumptions about them ran rampant. Then again, she was usually the one to bring any interesting rumours among the soldiers to his attention and she really had had no desire to bring up that one.

Maybe it was that she had done so now that had Kasius acting so strangely. It would work to their advantage now, though, so she did not see why it should be a problem.

If he would just take up his usual monologuing… or at least stop staring at her the whole time.

She could barely focus on her food when he was doing that, and the food was unlike anything she had ever been offered. No one had bothered sending a useless little outpost anything of great value, and even the food back at the Lighthouse had been beyond anything she would have dared dreaming of as a child.

And here she was, hardly taking a few bites, because Kasius was acting so peculiar.

“Everything alright?”she asked when she couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“Hm?” He blinked at her as if he’d forgotten she was there. Considering he barely took his eyes off her, she didn’t know how that would be possible. “Oh, fine, yes, I’m perfectly fine. I’ve just been thinking about how we’ll proceed from here on. We should speak to Father soon, see if he’s decided when he wants this to become public knowledge.” He smiled, a little too brightly. “The food not to your liking?”

“It’s fine,”she said automatically, taking a bite as if to prove it.

“The healing gel seems to have done its bit,”Kasius said, apropos of nothing.“I’d say the mark looks a few weeks old at least.”

She raised her fingers to the side of her neck, pressing them across the bitemark. It felt healed, anyway.“Let me see yours.”

He unfastened two of his buttons so he could pull aside the high collar properly. He’d thrown it on practically the second he had gotten out of bed, pointing out that it wouldn’t do for the servant to spot the mark when he returned with Sinara’s things. She herself had simply thrown her hair over her shoulder to cover it.

She leaned closer, brushing her thumb over the imprint of her own teeth on Kasius’ skin. There was something quite surreal to the mark. She’d never seen one that was actually such perfect, vibrant shades of purple and gold. Growing up, she hadn’t known anyone who could afford the proper powders. Her parents’ marks had been a sickly green-ish colour that reminded her of bruising.

“It looks good,”she said. Her hand was still on his neck. She couldn’t bring herself to move it, somehow.

“Good,”he echoed. He didn’t show the slightest inclination to move away. He was actually leaning into her touch.

They almost jumped out of their skins at the sudden, shrill beep interrupting the silence.

Kasius was the first to recover, reaching for his nearby communicator.

“Father wants us to join him for lunch today,”he said, setting the communicator down again.“That gives us a few hours to kill. Would you like to see some of the palace until then?”

She agreed to the suggestion. It would be interesting to see where Kasius had grown up.

 

“Do you have something with a high enough collar to cover the mark?”Kasius asked, already busy rifling through his closet for something that was fashionable enough to wear around the palace.

“My dress uniform,”Sinara offered.“Though it would be rather strange to wear that for no reason.”

“True, that won’t work.” He pulled a few items from the wardrobe, throwing them aside haphazardly. Then he handed her a garment.“Try that over your regular uniform. Not exactly haute-couture but it will do until we can buy you some new clothes.”

Sinara pretermitted the threat of a shopping trip in the near future, instead simply accepting the prompt to go and get dressed.

The vest was a blue so dark it looked black unless the light hit it just right, the collar was snug and high enough to hide the mark completely. A golden clasp served as a fastener.

It was the first bit of clothing that wasn’t some form of standard issued uniform Sinara had worn in years. She ran her fingers across the impossibly soft fabric and couldn’t help the small smile that snuck its way onto her face.

“Oh, dear, no,”Kasius said as she exited the bathroom again. She was about to protest that she rather liked the vest when he had already crossed over to her, taking the clasp off of her and instead fastening a belt around her middle.“There. Much better. Agraffes are utterly out of style. I couldn’t possibly let you walk around like that.”

She glanced down at the belt that he’d put on her. It was studded in gemstones. She could barely even fathom what it would be worth.

Surely it would be enough to feed a family of four for about a year.

“I can’t wear that,”she said.

“Why not?” Kasius sounded genuinely confused.“You look lovely.”

The casual compliment threw her off for a few seconds.

_ He meant the clothes _ , she reminded herself as she tried to remember what she had meant to say.“It’s too expensive. It’ll give people the wrong idea.”

He laughed, and only then did she remember that they were  _ trying _ to give people the wrong idea.


	8. Chapter 8

Kasius did his best to keep them to the more remote passageways; he was still unsure just how they were supposed to play this whole thing, and the fewer people they met, the better.

But confining them to his quarters for hours on end was the worse possibility, surely. He was already acting the fool less than a day into this sham marriage. Some sort of distraction was direly needed.

They did, of course, happen across a few servants, but those were hardly any concern of his. He did briefly wonder whether the curious looks he caught them sneaking their way were just because he had returned from exile or because the rumours had already taken their course.

It was strange to be back. After all the time of dreaming of returning, it was not as grand a change as he had thought it would be. A small part of him almost missed the Lighthouse. He had never felt so uncertain around Sinara there.

Now he found himself blathering on about architecture just to fill the silence. They weren’t even in a particularly architecturally interesting part of the castle. He must sound like an utter dunce.

He glanced at Sinara to see just how badly he was doing, and broke off mid-sentence.“What are you doing?”

She tilted her head to the side, a silent question.

“You’re walking half a step behind me,”he explained.“Like you’re guarding me.”

“So?”

He gave her an incredulous look.“So you’re not supposed to act as my guard.” He made sure the corridor was deserted before he continued.“No one will believe we’re involved if you keep that up.”

“Maybe we’re just discreet about it,”she said.

It was one of those rare instances where he was the one to answer her with only a look. He had been accused of many things in his life. Subtlety was not one of them.

“Right.” The hint of a smile played around the corners of her mouth.“Forgot who I was talking to for a second there.”

She fell into step next to him, though he had to remind her twice more when she fell victim to the force of habit again as they continued on their way.

“Where are we going?”Sinara finally interrupted him.“Not that random corridors aren’t infinitely fascinating.”

“The library.” He hadn’t completely decided where to take her until he’d answered. But it seemed the right place. The one part of the castle he had always liked.“My mother would always read to me there. It was very peaceful, neither Faulnak nor Father ever ventured anywhere near it if it could be helped.”

She simply nodded her agreeance.

He stopped dead in his tracks when they rounded the next corner. He had not realised the portrait gallery had been moved into this wing at some point during his exile.

Sinara took one look at the painting he had his eyes fixed on and understood.

“Is that her?”she asked softly.

Kasius nodded, mouth too dry to speak. Over all the years, he had almost forgotten what his mother looked like. He couldn’t even recall the sound of her voice. Seeing her without any warning like this…

Sinara’s fingers brushed against his lightly.“She looks kind.”

“She was.” The words came out in a croak. Everyone else would have remarked on her beauty, he knew.“Very much so.”

He swallowed hard, but the lump in his throat would not budge. He tore his gaze away from his mother’s warm eyes to another portrait in hopes of finding a distraction.

“My uncle Taryan,”he said, pointing the man out to Sinara.“He died before I was born. A bit of an eccentric, people thought. But as it turns out he had the right of it about the Destroyer.” He turned to the next frame. A bad choice, as it turned out.“Uncle Kaznaq. He was my favourite uncle. Died not long after Mother.”

“Reminiscing about old times?”

Kasius hadn’t heard that voice in years but he still knew who he would find before he turned around. Akedus looked as smug as he always did; his gaze lingered first on the belt around Sinara’s waist, then on the scars on her cheeks. The merest hint of a frown crossed his face before he caught himself and smiled at her brightly.

“We haven’t had the pleasure yet.” Kasius supposed he fancied himself charming as he gave a slight bow.“I’m Akedus. Kasius’ cousin.”

“Second cousin,”Kasius corrected icily, taking delight in the way Akedus’ cheek twitched as he clenched his jaw at the implied slight.

“Sinara,”Sinara said, and left it at that.

But Akedus had already stopped feigning interest anyhow. His smile did not reach his eyes as he returned his attention to Kasius.“So good to have you back, Kasius. I was sorry to hear about Faulnak. My condolences.”

“Thank you,”Kasius said. He had not missed the constant factitiousness of life at court. Akedus had not liked Faulnak any more than Kasius had, nor did he care an ounce about Kasius. And the feeling was quite mutual.

“Well, don’t let me keep you, Kasius.” He paused for a moment, inclining his head.“Sinara.”

“Second cousin?”Sinara questioned as Akedus disappeared around the corner. Clearly, she had caught the subtle insult as well.

Kasius rolled his eyes.“He fancied himself Faulnak’s heir when I wasn’t thought to ever return. And now mine, I suspect. Of course, he has a point, in a way. He is next in line as long as -” He caught himself just before the word _we_ left his lips. He cleared his throat.“As long as I have no child of my own. Well, the library. Shall we?”

Sinara was out of step again. He brought his hand to her lower back, a light touch, just to remind her to keep pace.

She flinched so hard, he pulled his hand back right away.

 

“So,”Kasius started once the door had closed behind them.“I suppose we’d better set some boundaries?”

“Boundaries?”Sinara echoed. He knew she was only feigning confusion.

He sighed.“Well, I can hardly have you flinching away every time I touch you if anyone is to believe us.”

“I was startled. I did not expect it.” She glared at him.“You can touch me all you want if I know you’re going to.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath. _Not what she meant,_ he chastised himself. _Very much not what she meant._

Clearly, she misread his silence, arms crossed and scowl deepened when he opened his eyes again.“You hardly have room to talk. May I remind you of this morning? You couldn’t even stand a little kiss.”

“Nonsense,”he ground out.“You simply caught me by surprise.”

“Very convincing, stealing my reasoning.” Sinara rolled her eyes.“If you can’t make it appear natural, we can always just not kiss.”

It seemed everything he said just made things worse. Perhaps it would be best not to say anything at all.

So instead, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. One hand was on her cheek, the other at her waist, pulling her closer. Her lips were incredibly soft, readily parting under his, her fingers twisting into the fabric of his shirt, dragging him impossibly close, the warmth of her pressed against him radiating through every fibre of his being.

For a moment, the world around them ceased to exist. Then Sinara pulled away, her cheeks flushed with colour.

She stepped back a little, but wasn’t entirely out of his personal space.“Fine, you proved your point. You can make it look real.”

“Thank you,”he said, rather stupidly. Proving a point had been the furthest thing from his mind.“So, what else? Do we pick pet names?”

“I don’t do pet names.” Sinara grimaced.“But tell you what, if you find it absolutely necessary and can somehow work it in, I won’t disembowel you for calling me one.” She eyed him suspiciously.“Nothing too sappy.”

“Duly noted.” He had been mostly joking, yet that didn’t seem pertinent to mention.


	9. Chapter 9

Garron was an utterly unpleasant man.

Still, Sinara was glad to be having lunch with him. Mostly because it meant she had a moment to just be left alone with her thoughts, as Garron did his best to pretend she wasn’t even there.

Picturing the day they would help nature along and make Kasius emperor was soothing after all the upheaval of the last day. It gave her something to dwell on that wasn't the taste of Kasius’ lips, or the warmth of his skin, or - she shook her head as if that might make the thought go away.

Garron didn't notice, going on about how his mother would be informed of the marriage but kept in the dark about all else, yet Kasius threw her a concerned look; she just gave him a small smile to appease him, shifting her focus to the food instead. Maybe being alone with her thoughts wasn’t as relaxing as she’d hoped. Best to stay out of her own head, really.

“And do something about her clothes,”Garron said eventually, jerking Sinara back to attention by the derisive look he gave her.“She looks like a soldier.”

Sinara fought the urge to roll her eyes as she glanced at Kasius, who simply sighed.“She is a soldier, Father.”

“Well, not anymore.” Garron glared at her as if this whole thing hadn’t been his idea in the first place.“Speaking of, I have ordered you a new guard.” He checked his communicator.“She’s outside now, you can go meet her.”

Kasius started to get up, but his father stopped him with a gesture.“Not you, boy. I have things to tell you in private.”

“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Sinara,”Kasius gave back icily.

“It’s alright,”Sinara said, softly enough that only Kasius could hear.“I don’t mind. I’ll go see if the guard is any good.”

He gave her an apologetic smile, but did not argue the point further.

 

Sinara wasn’t surprised that Garron had more or less ordered her from the room, she had gone into this expecting as much. He saw her as little more than an accessory in his scheming. Of course he would take any opportunity to remind her that her position was nothing but farce.

That train of thought ended abruptly when she caught sight of the guard waiting in the anteroom as he had said. Sinara stopped dead in her tracks.

The soldier looked back at her with an equally stunned expression, finding her voice first.“Sinara? Is that really you?”

“Azale.” The name was all she could get out. Of all the people that could have been named their personal guard…

Azale had already stepped closer, reaching out to place one hand at the nape of Sinara’s neck. She mirrored the gesture as they pressed their foreheads together.

Sinara found herself smiling as they moved apart again. The greeting was very common among the lower classes; she had not had occasion to use it in years.“Long time no see. How are things?”

“Fine, just got promoted to the crown prince’s personal guard,”she replied.“But you’d know that, I suppose, coming out of that room.”

Sinara simply nodded. Hearing Kasius referred to by his title was strange. She didn’t think of him as royalty.

“I was told I’d be guarding him and his - uh - companion,”Azale continued, glancing over Sinara’s shoulder as if expecting someone to follow.“No one said that I’d be the additional guard.”

“Oh, I’m not his guard,”Sinara said, suddenly finding it hard to meet Azale’s eyes. She swallowed hard.“Anymore.”

Azale’s eyes widened in surprise.“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Sinara offered a one-shouldered shrug in return before deciding there was really no reason to remain vague about it. Azale knew how to keep secrets, and this was only a temporary one anyhow. Not to mention it wasn’t even real. Best get some practice in telling the lie.

She pushed aside the collar of her vest enough for Azale to see the union mark.“Is that what you think I’m saying?”

“Oh my stars,”Azale breathed, dumbstruck for a few seconds. Then she burst into laughter.“You got the crown prince to _marry_ you? That is amazing.”

She scowled at the implication.“It wasn’t my idea.”

This did nothing to lessen Azale’s glee.“You got the crown prince to marry you and think it was his idea?”

“He wasn’t crown prince at the time,”Sinara said, feeling oddly defensive about something she knew to be a lie. Azale would not be the only one to question this marriage, she ought to get used to it sooner rather than later.

“Well, he was _a_ prince, anyway.” Her tone was gentler and she had stopped laughing.“I mean no offense, Sin, but your family makes mine look positively highborn. And I’m only half a step above a guttersnipe.”

“Charming,”Sinara deadpanned, though Azale raised a valid point. Even when he had stood to inherit nothing, Kasius could have still made a proper match. Someone much better than some lowborn soldier from the slums that had followed him to exile. But then again, she had been the only option available for this scheme.

“You know I always am,”said Azale. The amused twinkle in her eyes had not quite faded. Then she gasped as if something had just occurred to her.“But where are my manners! You’re a princess now.” She grasped Sinara’s hand, pressing her forehead against the back of her hand as she bowed deeply.“Your Highness.”

For fuck’s sake, she’d made herself a princess - well, no, Kasius had. Sinara was simply so used to agreeing to any and all of Kasius’ foolish requests she hadn’t taken a moment to think about the consequences.

She yanked her hand from Azale’s hold, shoving her shoulder for good measure as she straightened up again.“Stop it.”

“As Her Highness commands.” Her mischievous smile was still the same one that had gotten Sinara into all sorts of trouble back in the day.

It was too hard to actually be angry with her.

Instead, she pulled her into a brief embrace.“It’s really good to see you.”

“You too,”Azale said, her bright smile quickly giving way to a near-expressionless mask of politeness as she glanced over Sinara’s shoulder.

She turned in time to see Kasius cover his look of resentment with a smile that she may have taken for genuine if she hadn’t known him so well. Whatever his father had said to him, it seemed he had not appreciated it.

“Captain Azale, I assume?”he said as he walked over to them. He stopped next to Sinara, one hand coming to rest on her lower back, the other offered to Azale rather imperiously.

“Your Highness.” Azale did not dip as comically low as she had with Sinara, her tone the same she had always used with the higher-ups in the barracks.“It’s an honour.”

“I assume Father’s choice in guard has found your approval?”Kasius said. Sinara nodded, about to explain how she knew Azale, when he was already speaking again, this time to Azale.“We’ll head into the city right away. Page another guard if you don’t think you’re up to it.”

And with that he turned to leave the room.

Sinara suppressed a sigh as she followed him. Garron really had done a number on his mood, if even the prospect of shopping didn’t seem to excite him.

“When have you last heard from Darillion?”Sinara asked Azale as they headed down the corridor.“I haven’t spoken to him in at least a year.”

Kasius clicked his tongue impatiently, and then his hand was on her back again, gently urging her to walk faster. Strangely, it didn’t feel so much as he was making sure she remained at his side, but rather as if he was pushing her away from Azale.

Then again, she supposed it looked more as if she was her fellow guard when she walked that close to her. She shot her an apologetic look before turning her attention to Kasius.“So where will we be going first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> throwback to a year ago when i said "i can't finish it before posting, i gotta get it started before they die and i lose motivation" to a skeptical friend and now here we are. still not done lmao  
> so... happy anniversary?😅  
> i'll try to be better about it this year but no promises🙊


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